Remote Rural Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen will be the fuel of choice for powering large machines, such as tractors, harvesters and forwarders, in the agricultural and forestry sectors. While the machine manufacturers are working on the engine/power plant innovations, there is an urgent need to develop the technology that will enable the on-site generation of hydrogen in remote areas. More specifically the need is to refine the process of electrolysis so that renewable energy coming from photovoltaics (PV) can be used in areas where water quality can be highly variable. While PV is not the only renewable energy source, planning and other constraints make PV the most feasible method of generating renewable energy in many parts of rural Scotland. However, by their nature, PV systems are subject to power fluctuations. The consortium will focus therefore on these two areas of innovation, the use of water of variable quality as the electrolyser feedstock and the use of a Maximum Power Point Tracker to optimise the input electrical load to the electrolyser. The partners in the consortium bring together considerable expertise in the relevant technologies and in so doing, this project will address the significant gap in the various technologies either already developed or being developed that, when combined, will enable the economic and sustainable use of hydrogen to power large machinery in the land-based sector.